The Challenge: Design and build a car capable of crossing the vast and imposing continent of Australia using only sunlight as fuel and to prove it, in the spirit of friendly competition against others with the same goal.
This BLOG updates as teams publish their contributions around the world.

Disclaimer

Information on this blog is raw and sometimes unverified reporting straight from the road by teams. The event will issue a media release for any events requiring an official notification.

Note that links in blog entries are not maintained, so while a link may be verified to work on the day of publishing, this is not guaranteed beyond that day.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Here is today's news about Annesley College's EOS Project: the all-schoolgirl team driving their creation - an electric/petrol hybrid Holden Viva - in the Panasonic World Solar Challenge, an event that began in Darwin yesterday and finishes in Adelaide on Saturday.

Annesley is the only all-female team to enter the Challenge. Mortgage Choice is the proud sponsor of their EOS Project, nicknamed 'Lissie'.

TODAY: Monday October 22 – Katherine to Tennant Creek

There are so many aspects to this adventure..."There's no vehicle on earth that can do what we're doing" – Peter Gubbins, EOS project coordinator, 22 October 2007.

This was something said over the CB today that made us stop and think. He's right. This adventure is not just a trip of a lifetime for the Annesley girls and their support team but an important piece of history in the making.

The Panasonic World Solar Challenge is a global event that helps to put sustainable fuel sources on the social and political agenda. It heightens the awareness of such eco issues for not only the people involved and those who know them, plus those who live in the towns the Challenge runs through, but also those who hear about the event via the media and word of mouth. How fantastic it feels to be a part of it!

Today we drove from Katherine to Tennant Creek, along a highway with tar bleached almost white by the unrelenting sunshine.

Lissie drove well again, with her drivers and navigators using instinct and knowledge gained before and during the trip (road inclines and curves = heavier or lighter pressure on the accelerator = more or less amps) to achieve the best possible fuel economy. The car averaged around 10 amps at 90 kilometres per hour, ensuring they will match or do better than the approx. 7 litres per 100 kilometre petrol usage they achieved yesterday.

Along the way, we saw a flat landscape of light green/brown flora and deep red earth. At times, with its thin blonde/orange appearance, the grass of the brush stretching out from the roadsides looked like the hair of a girl whose hair is damaged from way too much bleaching. The thin, black trunked trees had bushy foliage of a brown/green colour. Quite a few roadtrains carrying army tanks passed us, making us wonder if a war had started that we hadn't yet heard about.

A special highlight was one of the girls, Jemma, pulling over to the side of the highway to be interviewed live on Triple J this afternoon via telephone. It was an excellent day-after-birthday present for her!

The Annesley team heads to Alice Springs tomorrow (approx. 500km away), with the petrol consumption check, fill up and sealing of tanks starting in Tennant Creek at 8am.

Contacts…Enquiries to Kristy Sheppard (Mortgage Choice) - 0407 450 860 OR Peter Gubbins (Annesley) - 0422 231 437 OR Meg Craven (Annesley) - 0412 649 460.Please reply to this email with 'unsubscribe' if you choose to not receive this daily update.** Note: Kristy, Peter and Meg are part of the girls' support team and will endeavour to return all calls within 24 hours but there may be occasions when the mobiles are out of range. We appreciate your patience.

World Solar Challenge Website

The Challenge: Design and build a car capable of crossing the vast and imposing continent of Australia using only sunlight as fuel and to prove it, in the spirit of friendly competition against others with the same goal.

This BLOG updates as teams publish their contributions around the world.